Single Investment Fund (SIF): A Guide for Relationship Managers

Single Investment Fund (SIF): Contact Centre Guide

This is a brief guide to help determine whether an investment proposal has potential to qualify for SIF support. Further guidance can be obtained from the relevant Appraisal Team - please see Annex 3

N.B. The entry level of support for capital investment projects is £5,001. For financial support below that amount, the applicant should be directed to their local authority. There is no lower limit for revenue support.

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must satisfy each of the following criteria:

Location - the project must take place in Wales.

Sector - is this is a business or activity that we are precluded from supporting? Except for projects relating to transport by rail, road or inland waterway, activities in all sectors are potentially eligible for support where the project relates to R&D. Support for capital investment is more complex however and the list at Annex 1 gives an indication of the sectors where EC restrictions apply or where the market may already be fully served, (e.g. retail and local services such as hairdressers, day care nurseries and garages).

Activity - is the project activity something that we can support through SIF? We are able to support the following:

New investment in capital assets (property, machinery, equipment, IT, etc) & IP bought in, certain professional fees and other related one-off costs. Routine replacement of existing assets is not eligible for support. Investment support may also be offered towards the wage costs of job intensive investments (such as call centres or projects in the knowledge economy), provided there is an initial and new capital investment. The new investment must create, safeguard or maintain employment.
R&D work, from technical feasibility studies through to experimental development and exploitation. R&D projects must be novel and include technological innovation and/or technological advance and a market for the project outcome.

Project costs - are the project costs eligible for support? See list at Annex 2

Additionality/Need - does the business need SIF support to enable the investment project to proceed as planned? For projects relating to capital investment, the applicant must demonstrate that, without financial assistance the project:

would not go ahead (e.g. because of lack of finance, because the rate of return does not meet the required level, or due to technical, commercial or financial risk);
would be on a smaller scale;
would take longer; or
would go ahead outside Wales.

Support cannot be offered where an irrevocable commitment to the investment taking place in Wales has been given already. In cases where applicants are claiming a lack of finance, they must demonstrate that they have exhausted all avenues of private sector funding.

For R&D projects, SIF support acts as an incentive to increase research, development and innovation activities in Wales by the applicant. Because of this, SME applicants are not required to demonstrate additionality for R&D projects, although the applicant must not have started the project before applying for SIF support. However, non-SME applicant companies must satisfy the same additionality/need criteria as listed above for capital investment projects.

Viability - both the business and project must demonstrate financial viability. The applicant must have a satisfactory balance sheet position. Assistance is not available to assist businesses experiencing financial difficulties with cash flow or balance sheet problems.

Next Steps

If you are uncertain as to the eligibility of the enquiry, please contact the relevant Appraisal Team for advice (see Annex 3). Who you contact will depend on the theme of the enquiry - if the theme is tourism, EGS or R&D you should contact the appropriate specialist team, while for “general” capital investment and property enquiries you should contact one of the Invest Wales Appraisal Teams.

If a project proposal appears to meet the broad eligibility criteria, you should suggest that the caller submits an Expression of Interest form - available at www.business-support-wales.gov.uk If they do not have access to the internet, you will need to send them a downloadable version of the form by post.

SECTORAL RESTRICTIONS, LOCAL MARKET & OVER CAPACITY CHECKLIST FOR PROJECTS INVOLVING CAPITAL INVESTMENT

The European Commission restricts aid to certain sectors such as agriculture, coal, fisheries, iron and steel and synthetic fibres.

The Assembly Government also restricts support for projects that serve only a local market or otherwise are in sectors of the UK market which are already fully served and where support would simply displace or reduce existing jobs in similar businesses elsewhere.

The following table is not comprehensive and provides an indication only of sectors that may be restricted. Bear in mind that there may be circumstances where projects in these sectors may have a case for support, e.g. where they can demonstrate that they serve a niche market.

Further advice on EC sectoral restrictions can be obtained from the State Aid Unit (01443 335685). Advice on local market conditions and over-capacity is available from any of the Invest Wales Appraisal Teams.

Sector	EC Restrictions Apply	Local Market	Over Capacity
Agriculture	ρ
Basic machining services			ρ
Blacksmith / welding			ρ
Building contractors and plant hire			ρ
Coal	ρ
Computer dealers		ρ
Consultants			ρ
Demolition contracting			ρ
Fishing	ρ
Horticulture	ρ
Iron and steel (primary production)	ρ
Leisure and sports clubs		ρ
Marketing and advertising agencies			ρ
Milk processing	ρ
Motor vehicle repair, bodybuilding and coachwork			ρ
Motor vehicle sale, service and hire		ρ
Nurseries, crèches, playgroups		ρ
Plant hire			ρ
Printing - jobbing / general printing			ρ
Professional services		ρ
Restaurants		ρ
Retail services, e.g. hairdressers, laundries, taxis		ρ
Retails shops		ρ
Retirement and nursing homes		ρ
Road haulage	ρ
Shipbuilding, ship conversion and ship repair	ρ
Slaughtering	ρ
Steel stockholding			ρ
Synthetic fibre and yarn	ρ
Timber roof truss manufacturers			ρ
Timber merchants			ρ
UPVC window manufacturers / installers			ρ
Wholesalers and distributors		ρ

POTENTIAL ELIGIBLE PROJECT COSTS

Land - purchase (as part of a bigger project)
Land - development/works
Buildings - purchase
Buildings - construction/improvement
Certain Professional fees, e.g. one-off fees associated with the investment, such as survey and legal costs
Fixtures and fittings
Equipment and machinery
Intellectual property acquired from a third party
Annual costs for new permanent employees (job creation linked to a new investment)
R&D project costs
Specialist advice in the Environmental Good and Services sector, to cover the costs of a specialist to provide expertise that is not available in-house (this specialist input can be for one-off assignments such as feasibility studies, reports, testing, design, etc, or for regular and occasional input over a period of time, and can cover a wide range of activities.

(Support for specialist advice for businesses operating in other sectors may be available through the Specialist Support Programme).

THE FOLLOWING COSTS ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR SUPPORT UNDER SIF

Shares of another business
Goodwill

CONTACT DETAILS

Capital Investment, including property

Invest Wales

North Wales: Iris Evans 01492 542511

West Wales (also covers North Powys): Gill Pritchard 01792 224555

South East Wales (also covers South Powys): Mark Richards 02920 828969

Research, Development and Innovation

Innovation and Technology

Catrin Harris 02920 368449

Environmental Goods and Services

EGS Team

North Wales: Julie Masters 01745 586287

Mid Wales: Debbie Renshaw 01970 613225

South East/West Wales: Nick Williams 01792 222453

Tourism

North Wales: Phil Griffiths 01745 589024

South East Wales: Lynette Newington 029 2047 5269

South West Wales: Janet Lewis 01558 669091

Mid Wales: Dilys Parker 01654704214

SIF - Contact Centre Guide v4.doc

Annex 1

Annex 2

Annex 3